The Water Fountain: Black and White and Color Photo Effects

One of my favorite subjects to photograph besides people is nature. I also love old art, sculptures and gardens. One of my favorite places to take photos is at a local historical park which is a photographers dream. My favorite time of day to be there is when the sun is setting in the east - and the light comes filtering in making a canvas of lights and darks, contrast and illumination, and I almost feel like I am in a magical land.

One of my favorite water fountains at this park is original to the grounds and the house and it has been lovingly restored. I believe the angels at the top are the original angels that were made with the fountain. The umbrella at the top is where water cascades down into the pool at the bottom. One day while I was taking photos there I decided to focus my attention to just the top piece of the fountain - then I edited the photo in Photo-bucket with various types of special effects.

I love to play with light and color when I take photos.The play of light reminds me of one of my favorite painters - Claude Monet. If only Monet had a camera, just think how much more fun he would have had! Because I am also a painter like Monet, I have a very deep appreciation of the artists eye when it come to layout, composition and the use of color. Although I do not use PhotoShop, I use all other types of editing programs to achieve special effects with my photos. I don't own a fancy professional camera - I have a simple point and shoot that takes wonderful pictures.The day I took this photo it was only done with a 5 mega-pixel camera, but even with a low resolution camera you can achieve good results if you have a decent photo to start with.

This photo of the the fountain reminds me of something old, beautiful and sentimental. I can imagine myself sitting quietly by the fountain just taking in the beauty of the park (which I often do) Besides being beautiful, this fountain has become a part of our family heritage now. I have photographed my grandchildren there and even watched my dogs jump in the water on a hot day. Although the house does not belong to me it has become a part of our family and will be always treasured and remembered through the photos we have taken there over the years.

What I have found in life is that there are many beautiful memories to be made - in many different venues- and they are not always where we expect they will be. I "accidentally" discovered this park down the street from our business when I was going through a particularly trying time of my life. For over a year I did not tell anyone about my "secret spot" - I would just disappear for short periods of time and sit at the park and think in peace, The fountain was the first thing i noticed when I walked in the park that day, and it will always be a fond place to not only remember as a healing place for me, but as a place of the present and the future that is now shared with my family.

@Copyright Dorsi Diaz 2011

(Dorsi Diaz is a freelance writer/publisher, artist and photographer. She writes on a variety of subjects including design, photography and everyday life. Please feel free to subscribe to her RSS feed and leave a comment below. All comments are answered. Thanks for reading!)